Seventy-two to 69.
It’s a score that has come to define arguably the two biggest games thus far in the No. 7 Michigan women’s basketball team’s 2025-26 season. The first occurrence was the November “neutral site” non-conference game in Uncasville, Conn. against No. 1 UConn, the first of two undefeated teams in the country. The second was Monday afternoon in a true neutral site game against No. 5 Vanderbilt, the country’s second undefeated team.
Each game followed a similar trajectory: a bleak halftime
deficit, a powerful comeback, and one final shot for Michigan. Yet the final score, 72-69, is what defines each top-five matchup for the Wolverines.
Despite outscoring the Commodores (19-0) by 14 points in the second half, Michigan’s (15-3) final shots fell short, losing its second marquee matchup of the season in heartbreaking fashion at the Coretta Scott King Classic in Newark, New Jersey.
The Wolverines rallied quite the comeback to even be in final-shot consideration, though.
In the first half, practically every Michigan action appeared rushed. Vanderbilt’s significant size and length advantage across the board shrank the Wolverines’ passing lanes, leading to frequent loose-ball turnovers. The Commodores pressured the ball heavily, advancing their defense high beyond the arc. When Michigan moved the ball to the interior, Vanderbilt’s help defense was right there to crash and double in the paint. Despite senior guard Brooke Quarles Daniels’ best efforts, Michigan’s 10 first-half offensive rebounds didn’t overcome the other offensive struggles.
On the other end, the Commodores’ strong spacing opened up high-quality looks from three, which they cashed in emphatically. Altogether, Vanderbilt shot 50 percent from three for 21 points in the first half. The Commodores appeared in complete control following a 26-13 second quarter, owning a colossal 17-point halftime lead, 47-30.
Midway through the third quarter, the Wolverines had fallen victim to eight steals and surrendered 22 points off turnovers. Then, they flipped the script.
Michigan ramped up its defensive pressure, forcing four turnovers and closing the third quarter on a 6-0 run. The Wolverines attacked the basket, relegating Vanderbilt star guard Mikayla Blakes to the bench with four fouls.
Senior guard Brooke Quarles Daniels breathed life back into Michigan, injecting the Wolverines with energy, one height-defying rebound or slick steal after another. Quarles Daniels kicked Michigan into gear, and sophomore guards Olivia Olson and Syla Swords combined for 17 points in the frame to narrow the gap, trailing by just eight points entering the final quarter, 61-53.
The Wolverines kept rolling, snowballing their 6-0 run into a 14-2 streak on the back of their defense. The tenacity and high-pressure identity they had come to be known by this season finally emerged, limiting the Commodores’ looks and consistently forcing turnovers. They were within striking distance, trailing by just two points midway through the quarter. Vanderbilt’s leading scorers were relegated back and forth to the bench with four fouls. Everything was going Michigan’s way, and the energy emitting from its bench was palpable.
But then the Commodores awoke. Blakes hit two free throws to end Vanderbilt’s scoring drought, pushing the lead just far enough out of the Wolverines’ reach.
Riding through the storm, Michigan found itself with a golden opportunity: a two-point game, the ball and 13 seconds on the clock. The Commodores ratcheted the ball pressure up higher than ever, and Olson’s secondary look grazed off the rim, wide right. Michigan had another chance to draw up a final play, this time for Swords, after a missed Vanderbilt free throw from Aubrey Galvan, the game’s leading scorer with 20 points.
The Wolverines inbounded to sophomore guard Mila Holloway, who redirected to Swords, running to the corner. Swords set her feet, and along with her shot, Michigan fell short of forcing overtime and knocking off an undefeated to the same bittersweet tune of 72-69.
